"We just returned from the Combine, and I remember the days of going there and studying and hoping that one of the quarterbacks could be our guy. 'Could so-and-so be our third-round Joe Montana or our sixth-round Tom Brady?' We've been out in that desert before," Ozzie Newsome recalled. "That all changed when we drafted Joe in 2008, and now we've secured him for many more years. Joe's a Raven in his style of play, the way he works and prepares, and the way he lives his life. He's a significant reason we've been to the playoffs five years in a row, played in three AFC Championship games, and now, we are the Super Bowl champs with Joe as MVP.

"We appreciate the way Joe handled these negotiations, and that includes his agent Joe Linta," Newsome added.

Flacco signed the deal at the Under Armour Performance Center just a few hours before Monday's 4 p.m. franchise deadline, so the Ravens are assured of not having to take a salary cap hit of approximately $19.5 million.

Flacco played out his rookie contract last season for $6.76 million.

"I'm very happy for Joe, his family and our fans," said John Harbaugh. "He has been our quarterback since Day One, and we've had confidence in him since the beginning. Joe is a tremendous competitor and highly motivated to be the best. He's a leader for us and a great teammate. He understands that we have more to accomplish, and we intend to do that. Having Joe with us certainly gives a better opportunity to succeed."

Flacco, 28, is a five-year veteran who was named the MVP of Super Bowl XLVII after helping the Ravens to their second World Championship in franchise history. With Flacco, the Ravens are the only NFL club to secure a postseason berth in each of the last five seasons (2008-12), winning at least one playoff game in each of those years.

Starting all 80 regular season games of his NFL career, Flacco has completed 1,507 of 2,489 passes for 17,633 yards, 102 touchdowns and 56 interceptions since being selected by Baltimore with the 18th-overall pick in the 2008 Draft. His 63 total wins (including playoffs) since entering the league rank as the NFL's most among all quarterbacks.

Flacco is the first starting quarterback in NFL history (since the 1970 merger) to make the playoffs in each of his first five seasons, compiling nine playoff victories, which tie (Tom Brady) for the most among quarterbacks in the first five seasons of a career.

With a three-touchdown performance in Super Bowl XLVII, Flacco threw 11 touchdown passes during the 2012 postseason, tying the NFL single-postseason record shared by Joe Montana (1989) and Kurt Warner (2008). Flacco and Montana did not throw an interception during those respective postseasons.

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